Have you ever tried to pump a ball? Maybe it was a soccer ball, basketball, or volleyball, but they all have the same pump. The pump has a needle-like attachment that goes into a rubber portion to open a flap that keeps the air in while more air is being pumped in. If you have pumped up any ball, you also have had the experience of pumping vigorously for a time and noticing the ball is even more flat than when you started. Sometimes the ball is the problem that it just doesn’t hold air anymore. However, often, there is something wrong with the pump. To be more specific, the pump is working but the needle attachment leaks. When there is a problem with the pump attachment there is a direction problem with the air causing too much air to exit the right spot. The result is a flat ball. I have found God’s word shows us that our communication can often leave people deflated and not pumped up. God says it this way as Paul pens the words to the Ephesian church, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29, ESV).

Let your words pump up, without letting the corruption leak out!